With Spencer Shaw – FOREST HEART Eco-Nursery
WHAT we tend to think of as a traditional hedge is a single species planting of the same tough, readily pruned, bushy-to-the-ground shrubs that is basically a living fence and not much more than that. However, this is a relatively recent invention of our production line landscaping, and the hedges of old contained a diverse range of species and resources for both humans and wildlife.
Some of the great local plants that we can use to create habitat hedges include most of our Lillypillys and Myrtles such as Creek Lillypilly, Silky Myrtle, Cinnamon Myrtle, Plum Myrtle and Scrub Cherry, however there are so many more! Common Aspen, Muttonwood, White Alder (Callicoma), Blueberry Ash and Velvet Leaf just for starters.
If you want prickles to keep things in or out, then you just can’t go past Orange Boxthorn, Native Holly, Native Capers and Native Currants.
All the plants listed above are great for a single line hedge, but if we can double or treble the width of the hedge, that’s when we can really start to make the magic happen and we can create a wide enough strip of habitat for wildlife to not only move through but also to live in! Planting a line of Lomandra, Bamboo Grass, Dianella, River Lilys or Raspberries on the outside of your hedge helps seal your planting all the way to the ground and provides shade, wind and soil protection, habitat complexity and in the case of the Raspberry – tasty fruit!
Throw in a few of the smaller vines such as Richmond Birdwing Vine, Gum Vine, Scrambling Lily and Wombat Berry and our hedge structure is becoming very diverse and has a range of additional resources for fauna such as the Richmond Birdwing Butterfly.
To return to my original pun, I bet you didn’t realise just how interesting and important hedges can and should be in our landscape. So don’t beat around the bush and invest in your local hedges now.